Worlds Collide
by KLT19
Summary: Beca and Chloe meet in an unexpected way, will their worlds collide, will sparks fly? Read to find out!
1. Chapter 1

_**Worlds Collide**_

 **Chapter One – 'Bought Down With a Bump'**

The alarm buzzed steadily on the nightstand, screaming its wake up call and disrupting its owner's peaceful sleep. It was 06:45 on Friday morning, and like every morning so far this week, Beca groaned, rolled over towards the device making the obnoxious sound, and hit the snooze button on her phone. All too soon, the alarm was sounding again, and with an annoyed eye roll she sat up groggily in bed and stretched the sleep from her muscles.

Her routine for getting ready for work was always the same; shower, dress, apply her makeup (which namely consisted of a little too much eyeliner, mascara and a sweep of lip balm), fix her hair and grab her keys, wallet, phone and most importantly to her, her headphones which she nestled delicately around her neck, and then she would head out of her front door to the Starbucks around the corner from her apartment. It was a well-known fact to the few people who knew Beca well, that she just simply did not function in the morning before she had her morning caffeine boost.

As she walked down the street listening to her latest mix, she rounded the corner and sighed. There was a huge queue in her favourite coffee shop and although she had given herself plenty of time to combat this before heading to work, she was not in the mood to deal with all of the strangers lined up chatting obnoxiously loudly to each other and bumping past others before she could even order her drink. And so, this lead to the decision to continue on her walk to work and try to scout out an alternative coffee shop along the way.

Beca worked at a small production company called 'Phoenix Beats', it was only about a 20 minute walk from her apartment so she saved money by walking to and from work every day instead of driving her car. She had initially done an internship at the studio straight out of university and had impressed the management greatly thus she was swiftly offered a full time job as a producer. She loved her job and couldn't wish for a better team. Within her team she worked with Jessica who was an executive producer (she mainly dealt with organising the financial side of the producing process), Stacie who was a talent manager with a sharp eye for bringing in talented artists for Beca to work with and finally Cynthia Rose who owned the small recording studio. They were a tight knit unit and had formed friendships that Beca hoped would span a lifetime.

Beca rounded another corner, the music still running through her headphones when she finally spotted a small coffee shop nestled between an empty rental space and a flower shop. She slipped the headphones back to their near constant position around her neck and grabbed her phone from her back pocket to pause the music still pumping through the headphones. She was looking down at her phone as she lifted her arm towards the handle of the door, as soon as she began to pull open the door and started to look up, a flurry of red wavy hair was barrelling its way through the doorway, the offending head turned back facing the coffee shops counter and shouting that she would grab her wallet and be right back. In her rush, the redhead had not seen Beca on the other side of the door, and in turn let out a surprised 'oomph' as the glass panel of the door she was intending to shoulder open was no longer in her way, and instead she had collided with a short brunette who was now currently sitting on the floor with a maddened expression on her face.

Beca had landed hard on her ass and was pretty sure that if she wasn't in public then a string of profanities would be currently making their way out of her mouth. She glared upwards, ready to unleash her fury, but as soon as she locked eyes with the clearest blue eyes she had ever seen, all of her anger dissipated. She couldn't look away from the visibly shocked redhead, she couldn't speak, she simply stared with her mouth agape. The woman who was stood over her, had on a navy blue dress with white polka dots scattered across the fabric, her long tanned legs disappeared beneath the fabric and Beca had physically struggled to keep her eyes travelling north, but she was sure glad she had, Beca was certain that this woman above her was the most beautiful person she had ever seen, she would of gladly stayed sat there all day admiring her if she could!

The redhead seemed to recover first, she started rambling her apologies in a non-stop flurry of "oh my goodness, I am so, so sorry, please forgive me, here let me help you up" as she reached down and to Beca's surprise looped her arms underneath Beca's own and lifted her small frame up off of the ground. Beca was stunned by the redheads seemingly lack of personal boundaries, most people would of at most stuck a hand out to help pull the fallen person up off the floor, but this woman….well she just leapt ahead and wrapped herself around the smaller brunette effectively pulling their bodies together as they both returned to an upright position. They stayed in this close intimate position for a few seconds before Beca cleared her throat in an embarrassed cough and took a step back. She wasn't one for physical contact, especially with someone she had never met before, even if this woman was seemingly trying to hypnotise Beca with her heavenly eyes!

The redhead was the first to speak, offering her apologies in a sincere tone. "I am so sorry, I was rushing and didn't see you and then well, you know, I slammed into you…oh god I totes just knocked you down and it must of hurt…I really am so sorry, you must hate me" the woman worriedly rambled. Beca interjected, she could see the redhead getting visually upset, tears staring to rim in her eyes, and for reasons that Beca could not fathom, she felt the need to console the beautiful woman stood in front of her, she didn't like the thought of this gorgeous creature being upset, especially when she was the cause of the upset. "Honestly, it's fine" Beca quipped, "look I have the use of all of my limbs" Beca said as she wiggled both her arms in demonstration continuing the wave down her body. The redhead giggled glad that the small brunette was not readying herself to lay into her verbally for being so clumsy.

As she looked at the woman, she noticed for the first time just how attractive the she was. She eagerly took in the woman's small frame; she was easily 2 inches shorter than herself, her style was alternative; black skinny jeans, a grey vest top with a purple plaid shirt, grey slightly beat up converse on her feet, big bulky headphones looped around her neck and her mouth forming a tight lipped semi smile/ smirk. But it was her eyes that the redhead was drawn too most, they looked to be the colour of a dark stormy sky and she could see a range of emotions passing swiftly across them; first the woman looked worried which was bizarre to her as she was the one who had careened into her, and then that quickly moved to happiness that was then schooled into a neutral look that the redhead noticed coincided with her own giggle coming to an end.

Beca gave the redhead a genuine smile, pleased that she had silenced the torrent of apologies and also managed to make the beautiful woman giggle, a sound that was heavenly and oh so cute to Beca's mind. Both women stood facing each other, wondering what to say next. The redhead broke the silence by saying "I really am sorry….." the sentence hung unfinished in the air and it took Beca longer than she'd like to admit to realise that the redhead was waiting for her to share her name. "Oh, uh, Beca, that's my name, Beca Mitchell" Beca extended her hand with the intention of shaking the redheads, the woman in question however had other ideas and enveloped her arms around Beca's shoulders. "I'm Chloe Beale" the redhead said as she tightly embraced the shocked brunette. "Personal boundaries really aren't your thing are they Red?" Beca muttered as Chloe blushed slightly, smiled and removed herself from around Beca. "Well I thought I better make amends after knocking you clear off your feet, besides, I couldn't pass up a chance to get that close to you again now could I?" Chloe giggled as she gave Beca a brilliant smile and threw her a wink. It was Beca's turn to blush, not used to the level of affection that was being directed at her from a complete stranger. "Umm…I was…coffee, that is, I was going to get coffee" Beca stammered pointing at the near empty coffee shop behind them with a vicious blush that was running from her neck up to her ears. Chloe laughed a full hearted laugh. "Well then allow me to get one for you, you know, as an apology"? Beca smiled at Chloe, she was mesmerised by those brilliant eyes, currently donning a puppy dog quality as she asked Beca's permission to buy her a beverage. There was no way that Beca could say no to those eyes, and so she turned in the direction of the coffee shop and allowed Chloe the lead.

Chloe held the door open for Beca, and they made their way through the small shop to the counter where an older guy with dark curly hair stood watching them curiously. "Hey Carl, can I add another drink to my order please?" Chloe directed her question to the man, who in turn nodded and asked what she would like. "A Grande Caramel Macchiato please, extra hot" Beca requested. "But honestly Chloe, I can pay for it myself" she quickly added. "Don't be silly, it was my fault that you ended up on the floor, it's the least I can do Beca". Beca enjoyed the way her name sounded coming from the gorgeous redhead and gave the girl her signature smirk in way of silently agreeing to the kind offer.

"I'll be right back Carl" Chloe said as she skipped towards the exit once more, leaving a rather confused Beca staring after her. Less than 2 minutes later Chloe returned, holding a purse in her hand and sauntering back towards the brunette. Beca couldn't take her eyes off of her; however she apparently still had a confused expression on her face as Chloe quickly explained why she had abruptly left. " Oh, I accidentally left my money in my shop" Chloe pointed animatedly towards her right hand side and gave Beca a lopsided smile that reached her eyes that made Beca's heartrate quicken. "I own the flower shop next door" she continued to explain. "That's where I was headed in a rush when our worlds collided" Chloe laughed slightly embarrassed by the memory of her klutziness.

Just then Carl bought over the two drinks and Chloe handed over some notes to pay. "Keep the change" Chloe smiled towards the man. Beca glanced at her watch and internally sighed as she realised she was now running late for work – she would never make it there in time and she hated to keep people waiting. Chloe noticed Beca's brows furrow. "I'm sorry Chloe, I need to get going. I'm going to be late for work" Beca grumbled. She didn't want to leave the redhead, she felt a pull to stay, but she had no time to contemplate the reasons why, she was in a rush and had to get a move on. Chloe looked disappointed but placed a smile on her face and told Beca that she understood and that she hoped they could 'bump' into each other again. Beca rolled her eyes good naturedly at the bad pun and shot her smirk towards Chloe saying "I'd like that" as she rushed towards the door, nearly knocking a tall blonde woman over as she paid no attention to her path. Chloe giggled and waved as Beca practically ran through the door, however the smile slipped from her face when she realised that they had not swapped contact details or arranged a time to meet up again. 'Maybe she wasn't interested in me and was just trying to be polite' Chloe dejectedly thought to herself.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Worlds Collide**_

 **Chapter Two – 'Summoning Courage'**

 **Hi everyone! Thank you so much for reading and a huge thank you to the people who have favourited/followed the story!** **I hope you continue to enjoy! Please feel free to review – all comments are greatly appreciated xoxo**

Beca hurried down the street trying to get to the studio as quickly as possible. Her mind was working overtime trying to combat all the different thoughts currently flying through her brain; she had a meeting to attend first thing with Stacie about working with an up and coming artist who they both thought had huge potential. She also had a meeting with Cynthia Rose and Jessica scheduled to discuss possible advertising ideas to ensure the studio maximum media awareness; business was doing well but they were yet to sign that one big client; a major client signing would definitely help in guiding other prominent artists to follow suit, and then they could finally start to expand the business. Beca had always been good at keeping her head in the game, but today she was struggling, she really was trying to focus on the issues she wanted to bring up in the meetings, but there was something blocking her thoughts from forming coherently...a singular thought that kept pushing its way to the front of her mind...and this thought consisted of blue eyes and fiery red hair. Try as she might she just couldn't stop thinking about the woman she had just met.

As she rounded the last corner she walked up to the front entrance of the studio, she glanced at her watch and grimaced as she realised she was indeed late. Beca walked through the small lobby area of the building and was greeted by a loud warm welcome of "Hi there short stack!" from the receptionist - an Australian woman named Fat Amy (there was a reasoning behind the name, Amy's own doing, she insisted she be called that so that "twig bitches" didn't call her it behind her back) - yeah Amy was eccentric to say the least, but she was good at her job and the incoming clients loved her. "I've asked you not to call me that a million times Amy, I'm not short!" Beca grumbled. "Did someone roll out of bed on the wrong side this morning grumpy pants?" Amy enquired. "I could pick you up and spin you around and around until your mood improves if you like, I've done the same for some sour looking kangaroo's before ya know!?" Amy devilishly asked. "Come near me and feel my wrath" Beca warned as she walked past Amy shooting her a quick glare jokingly, and continued through a door to the back of the room.

Beca continued down a corridor and headed into the elevator pushing the 2nd floor button. The building consisted of a reception, bathroom and staff room on the ground floor, two studios, a bathroom and a small kitchen area on the first floor and four offices on the second, final floor. Cynthia Rose had the largest office, with Beca, Stacie and Jessica all having their own smaller offices along the same corridor. Beca exited the elevator and headed down the corridor stopping briefly in her office to discard her now empty coffee cup and drop her keys and wallet on her desk. She left her office and carried on down the corridor. Upon arrival at her desired destination she knocked quickly three times on a wooden door that held a bronze sign signalling that the office belonged to 'Stacie Conrad – Talent Manager'. Straight away she heard Stacie call for her to come in and as Beca swung open the door and entered she was greeted by the tall brunette stood leaning against her desk with a wide smile aimed at Beca.

"I'm sorry I'm late Stace, I've had a weird morning!" Beca apologised as she moved to sit on the sofa nestled against the back wall of the office. She and Stacie had been friends for a long time; they started at the studio together at the same time, and although their personalities differed greatly; Beca being sarcastic and mostly reserved, whereas Stacie was confident and talkative and extremely flirtatious, they bonded easily and truth be told, Beca considered Stacie to be her closest friend. "Care to expand on that short stuff"? Stacie asked. "Really Stace…when are you going to stop calling me short? Compared to you, anyone would seem vertically challenged – it's not my fault you are a giant!" Beca said with a voice laced with sarcasm. Stacie, who stood at 5ft 8 inches, raised her shoulders in a shrug not phased at all by her friends' comments. She simply continued to look at Beca with expectant eyes until the music producer took the hint and proceeded to explain why her morning had been 'weird'.

Beca relayed the events of the day so far and by the time she had finished her account of her morning she was smiling widely, something that did not go unnoticed by her friend. Stacie returned the smile and elbowed the brunette gently in the ribs. "So has shorty finally snagged herself a date?!" Stacie wiggled her eyebrows suggestively which caused Beca to blush furiously. "What…uh no…why would you…I mean who said anything about a date?" Beca was spluttering, her eyes looking anywhere but at Stacie. "Well, you said 'she was seriously hot ', your words shorty not mine" Stacie explained. "I mean I just figured that if you are actually attracted to her, which come on, you haven't shown any interest in anyone in god knows how long, then you would have least walked away with a date?" Stacie knew that Beca was very reserved when it came to dating, in fact, in the whole time the two had known each other she hadn't seen Beca go on one single date. She knew that Beca had major trust and abandonment issues and that it was a miracle in itself that Beca had even noticed someone, but she could never stop in her unwavering attempts to get Beca to finally loosen up and just have a bit of fun, hell maybe even find someone worthy of a relationship with the closed off woman. All in all she just wanted her friend to be happy; she knew that the brunette was lonely. "Just because I thought she was attractive doesn't mean that she thinks the same about me Stace, I don't even know if she's into women!" Beca exclaimed. "So go find out" Stacie replied. Beca just looked at her dumfounded. "Oh, just go and find out….yeah Stace it's that simple" Beca scoffed in surprise. "Yes it is" Stacie deadpanned. "What's the problem here Beca, you know where she works, go and see her and ask for her number. Tell her you are an idiot and that you should have asked her earlier but you were in a rush". "I don't know Stace, what if she says no?" Beca near whispered. Stacie could tell that Beca wanted too, it was just her damn stubbornness and lack of confidence holding her back. She resolved to convince the small brunette during the course of their meeting, which they really should get started with. It was her mission – Stacie would get Beca to see the redhead again today if it was the last thing she did.

Beca left Stacie's office a little over two hours later. They had finally moved on to business topics and had managed to arrange a date and time for Beca to meet with the potential new artist. The artist; had just moved out to LA from her home country of Sweden, she was gradually building her fan base there but had wanted to expand her audience and hoped that by working with a producer in Los Angeles it would help start her career in the US. Beca was excited about her upcoming meeting with the woman scheduled for Monday morning and already had multiple ideas about what kind of sound they would be going for. Stacie had filled her in on all the things she needed to know about the artist, her style of music and singing, and how long they would have to complete the new project.

Beca walked back into her office and started up her computer. While she waited for it to spring to life she sat back in her leather chair and contemplated what Stacie had said to her earlier about Chloe. She knew the taller brunette was right, she was attracted to Chloe and the fact that the redhead had not left her mind since their encounter that morning only further confirmed it. Beca Mitchell worked to a plan, she worked hard, and she invested all of her time and energy into music. When she wasn't in the studio she was working on her own personal mixes, she had at least 200+ usb drives at home filled with different songs, mixes and mash ups. She worked hard because one day, she wanted all of this for herself; she wanted her own studio and her own production company. Dating did not factor into this plan, it never had. But there was a nagging thought in Beca's mind, the thought of 'what if'. Two little words that she was now drowning in. 'What if, she was meant to bump into Chloe'? 'What if, there was a reason why the queue was that long in Starbucks this morning, she had never even contemplated going to a different coffee shop before, and on the one day that she did, Chloe literally crashed her way into Beca's life'. 'What if, she was supposed to be with Chloe Beale?' As Beca's computer whirred to life, she loaded her emails and calendar. She was pleasantly surprised to see an email from Cynthia Rose apologising that she would need to reschedule their planned meeting for a different day next week. This freed up Beca's day, she had a conference call scheduled for in 15 minutes time, but she didn't have any clients booked into the studio for the afternoon, and so she decided to head back down to Stacie's office to see what her friend had planned for the day.

Stacie had some late afternoon appointments but it was decided that after Beca had completed the conference skype chat with an artist in Seattle, that they would meet up and go for lunch together. Beca informed her that she had indeed thought about what Stacie had said to her regarding Chloe, and that she needed her help to formulate a plan. Stacie grinned ecstatically at this prospect and by lunch time they were sat opposite each other at a corner table tucked away at the back of their favourite diner. Stacie did indeed have multiple ideas about how to find out if the redhead was interested in Beca; however Beca quickly vetoed all suggestions as they mainly involved Beca taking her clothes off or storming in to the flower shop and kissing the redhead without even a word being said. After the 5th suggested plan of the same sort Beca sighed. "No Stacie, I need something subtle, I'm not good with words, you know that, and judging from earlier when I couldn't even form proper sentences around her, I'm going to need a plan that even I can't screw up!". Stacie felt for her friend, she herself never had any problems in the dating department and sometimes forgot that Beca was a little socially awkward and not as willing to take risks as she was. "Ok look, you don't need some big fancy plan, just go into her shop and strike up a conversation. I promise you Beca, you'll be able to tell if she's into you, if she flirts, you're in!" Stacie smiled at Beca, and put her hand on her friends shoulder in a reassuring squeeze. "I've got to go, work commitments and all, but promise me you'll go Beca?" Beca looked at her friend as they stood ready to leave, both dropping some money on the table to cover their bill and nodded her head. "Ok….I promise".

Beca walked the route back to the spot where she had met Chloe earlier that morning, her hands were sweating and she was having a hard time keeping her cool together as with every step closer she got more and more anxious about what she was going to say. She had no idea why she was so nervous, she had only met this woman once and already Beca knew that if she saw that sexy smile and those beautiful eyes one more time then she would be hooked; there would be no escaping the fact that she, Beca Mitchell, was crushing hard on the enigmatic woman, she wouldn't be able to hide it, she wouldn't be able to deny it…Chloe already felt like a beat cursing through her mind; much like when Beca had an idea for a new mix, she wouldn't be able to get that beat out of her mind until she weaved in some bass and intricate musical parts until finally she had the perfect end product, Chloe Beale was that steady beat…relentless in her mind…but Beca was already hoping that the perfect end result would be a date with the gorgeous woman.

Beca stopped walking when she saw the sight in front of her. She could see the front of the flower shop, the big bold brightly coloured sign hanging above the door which read 'Perfect Petals', the benches with multiple buckets all filled to the brim with every kind of flower ranging in sizes and colours. The door was closed but she could see a sign in the window that said 'we are open, come on in!'. The whole front of the building gave off a welcoming friendly vibe and as she started to walk towards it she took a sharp step to the left and instead opened the door that she had earlier stepped through only to be sent falling to the floor. As Beca entered the coffee shop she saw the same man stood behind the counter, he was currently passing a cup to a man who then moved towards a table to take a seat. When Carl's eyes lifted to see his next customer, he was surprised to see the woman who had earlier been sat in his doorway after his favourite customer had literally bowled her over. "Umm Hi, I know this is a bit of an odd request, but I was wondering if you remembered me from this morning?" Beca enquired. "Of course Miss, how can I be of assistance?" the barista asked. "Well I just wondered if you knew the woman who was in here earlier, the one that knocked me over?" Beca could instantly see the worried look in the man's eye and assured him that she wasn't looking for any trouble, and that she just wanted to buy her a coffee as a means of saying thank you for buying her drink this morning. "it's just I don't know what she likes, so I figured if she was maybe a regular, what with her working next door, that she might have a preferred order?" Beca rambled. Carl chucked at the small brunette telling her that what she was doing was really sweet and that he would get Chloe's drink ready for her.

Beca left the coffee shop with Chloe's drink in her hand; a Grande vanilla latte with extra cream. She inhaled a deep breath and readied herself for her next task….actually entering the flower shop.

As Beca entered through the door she noted that the shop was small but cosy, that same welcoming presence evident inside as well as outside. There were no customers in the shop and the counter was empty of employees. Beca spotted a small silver bell on the counter next to a hand written note which told her to 'ring for assistance'. Beca took one more settling breath as she lightly tapped the bell.

Chloe was busy in the back of her shop; her current bouquet arrangement was not going to plan. She had already re-started it three times. Her mind had been on the small brunette that she had crashed into earlier, and her lack of focus was severely disrupting her creative work. Not to mention the fact that she had stabbed herself multiple times on the thorns of the yellow roses she was working with. As she caught her finger on the prickly offender once more she couldn't help but smile…yellow roses were her favourites, everyone always went for the cliché of red roses, however Chloe loved the yellow ones. They reminded her of sunshine and happiness. She absentmindedly found her mind drifting to thoughts of Beca again; she wondered what the girls' favourite flower was and if she would ever get the chance to ask her. She hoped that she would see the pretty brunette again, she was still mad at herself for not asking for the girls number, but she had no details about the other woman apart from her name, Beca had hurried out of the coffee shop before Chloe could put her mind in gear about asking the woman out on a date, what hope did she have of ever seeing her again now. Chloe subconsciously pouted. She heard the bell from the front of the shop ring signalling that a customer required some help. Still slightly sulking at her previous thought, Chloe removed her apron and stepped through the doorway from the back of the shop.

When she took the last step forward that propelled her into the main section of her shop she stopped dead in her tracks. Her heart stopped beating and her brain struggled to process the scene in front of her. There, stood on the other side of the counter, was no other than the girl that had been occupying her thoughts all day.

Beca stood facing the redhead, her mouth had gone dry and she was struggling to form words. She noted that Chloe hadn't moved, she was stood still just staring at Beca. 'Oh crap this was definitely not a good idea' Beca thought to herself. She started to internally panic, 'oh crap crap crap, what was I thinking listening to Stacie! Of course she doesn't like me the same way, she probably thinks I'm some sort of stalker weirdo!' Beca started to take a step back, the welcoming smile that was previously on her face faltering. This motion seemed to make the gingers senses finally kick in as she took in the realisation that Beca was actually in front of her, she had sought her out, and of her own accord showed up at her place of work to see her! She quickly noted the panicked look in Beca's eye and launched herself in the brunette's direction, determined to not let her leave. She threw her arms around Beca's neck and nuzzled her face close to the shorter girls' ear as she smiled ecstatically and said "You came to see me!" Beca was acutely aware of how close the redheads body was to her own, she wasn't used to physical contact and in a normal situation she would of violently jerked away and scowled at the offender, but oddly enough, this time she didn't want to, Beca leaned in a little closer and smiled at the sensation of being so close to Chloe. With one final quick squeeze of the redhead's body, Beca stepped back a little. "Of course I did Red" she chuckled, relived that her initial assessment of the situation had been wrong. Chloe genuinely seemed thrilled to see her and Beca's heart filled with hope. "I bought you a coffee" Beca said as she pointed towards the counter where she had set the cup down. Chloe lifted the cup to her mouth and took in the sweet scent of her favourite drink. "How did you know this was my all-time favourite drink?" Chloe asked shocked that the brunette had managed such a feat. "I had a little help from Carl" Beca sheepishly replied.

Chloe slowly sauntered back towards Beca and lent in slowly, she placed a soft quick kiss on Beca's cheek that made an immediate blush sweep up the brunettes face. "Thank you" Chloe whispered as she let her breath tickle the area around Beca's ear. It was at that moment that the door to Chloe's shop opened as a couple holding hands walked in talking animatedly about the type of flowers they wanted to look at. Beca took a step back and said in a gentle voice that she should let Chloe get back to work. Before she turned to leave she leant in close to Chloe one more time and whispered "Turn your cup around" as she turned on her heels and walked out through the door, looking back to shoot a smirk and a wink in Chloe's direction. Chloe lifted the cup and quickly turned it around in her hands. On the back of the cup in scrawled block writing was a telephone number and a message that read 'CALL ME'. Chloe's smile reached all new proportions as she set the cup carefully down on the counter and walked towards her customers.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Worlds Collide**_

 **Chapter Three – 'Texts and Blushes '**

 **Hi everyone! I'm so pleased that my story is having a positive response – thank you to all those who have read, favorited or followed** **I hope you continue to enjoy! Please feel free to review – all comments are greatly appreciated and if you have a tumblr account come say hi on there; life-music-love xoxo**

As Chloe waved the customers goodbye from her shop she was grateful to see Emily walking through from the back returning from her lunch break. Chloe had started her business at the age of 23, and four years later it was doing really well. Chloe had been sensible and picked a prime up-and-coming location, it was surrounded by other shops and properties and in general the whole area was usually buzzing with life. Once business started picking up after the initial opening, Chloe was quickly advised to hire some staff to help her on the busier days and cover holidays etc. Most of Chloe's business advice came from her best friend Aubrey; they had met during their first year of University and had been inseparable since.

Now that Emily (a 22 year old girl who was her most experienced and longest running member of staff) had returned to the store after her break, it enabled Chloe to go through to the back of the shop and take a quick lunch break herself. She smiled as she passed the younger girl and grabbed the coffee cup from off of the counter top along the way to her office, and then slumped into the small leather chair situated behind her desk. Chloe's office was small, and namely consisted of a desk with a photo frame with a picture of Aubrey and her sticking their tongues out at each other on top of it (photography was a new passion of Chloe's so she was in the process of putting her work up all over the walls of her office as well as any flat surfaces), a silver lamp, the before mentioned chair, a book case and a small filing cabinet that she kept all of her order forms, delivery notes, receipts etc.

Chloe leaned back in her chair and pulled her phone out of her pocket and entered the scribbled telephone number from the side of the cup into her contact list, checking carefully three times that she did indeed copy the digits correctly. She saved the number under the name 'Coffee Cup Cutie'; nearly everyone in Chloe's contact list had a special nickname, she regularly changed them to whatever was a fun topical name for them at any given time, however this had proven to be a source of contention with Aubrey as she could never find who she wanted to contact when using Chloe's iPhone. Aubrey's phone was in Chloe's words 'archaic' and quite often her blonde friend would use Chloe's phone to make Skype calls or to face time, a function that her own phone did not have. But Chloe didn't mind, she loved the fact that her and Aubrey shared things, in fact she had one of Aubrey's dresses sitting in the back of her office that she had picked up from the dry cleaners only yesterday after borrowing it the previous weekend.

Chloe sat looking at the number in her phone, she was smiling ear to ear and remembering the little details from earlier that she had taken in; the look of nervousness in Beca's eyes when she first noticed her on the other side of the counter, the faint smell of coconut coming from Beca's hair whilst Chloe had her arms wrapped around her tiny frame, the glint of excitement and hope in her stunning eyes as she winked turned her back and walked out of the shop. Chloe took a deep breath and started to type a message to the brunette. After five failed attempts and multiple huffs and shakes of her head as she deleted each message she finally gave up. She wanted the message to be cute and sweet, but everything she was typing was coming out a little creepy or just plain not good enough in her mind, she wanted it to be perfect. She scrolled through her contact list until she found the person she was looking for and hit the call button. After three rings a friendly familiar voice answered at the other end of the line. "Hey Chlo-bear, what's up? And what name am I under today?" Aubrey asked her best friend. "Hey Aubs, I'm sorry for calling while you are working, it's just I need a quick pep talk and I don't think a text will cut it". "Oh and you're under 'Show Me the Money Posen'" Chloe giggled. "I knew I shouldn't have let you talk me into watching 'Jerry Maguire' with you last night" Aubrey chuckled to herself.

Chloe spent the next fifteen minutes filling her friend in on all the details of that morning, how she 'literally swept a beautiful brunette off of her feet' by clumsily smacking straight into her, buying her a coffee but forgetting to ask for her number, right up to when Beca left the shop a mere half an hour ago. Aubrey listened quietly, chuckling when she heard about her friend being such a klutz and warning her that she should have been looking where she was going, at the end of the story, Aubrey took a deep breath and stated "Are you having difficulty finding the right words to text her?". Chloe smiled to herself, of course Aubrey would know the reason she called her right away, they had known each other for so long that the tall blonde woman knew exactly what Chloe would be thinking and that she would be worrying about saying the wrong thing...it was one of the things Aubrey loved about her friend, but also one of the things she worried about the most; Chloe was always so willing to please people, she constantly puts everyone first, even if that means sacrificing her own happiness. So Aubrey gave her best pep talk, well in the time that she had, after all she was at work and she was supposed to be concentrating on the client file currently open in front of her.

Chloe ended the phone call with Aubrey with a happy goodbye, and the promise of popping around to her apartment later with some Chinese takeaway. She felt a lot better about what to text, and as Aubrey advised her, she typed what she wanted to say, it didn't need to be a big deal, Beca had given Chloe her number so she obviously wanted the redhead to talk to her...she added the last kiss to the text and hit send.

Beca was sat at home on her comfy corner sofa with her laptop resting on her legs, her headphones were on her ears and she was part way through creating a new mix bopping her head along to the chorus of the current song. After she left the flower shop she had decided to head home. She didn't have any Studio work scheduled and was planning to stay in for the rest of the day readying herself for the usual Friday night ritual of Stacie skyping her whilst she got ready to go to yet another party or launch night's grand opening, with her latest gossip of the day, it had become a thing for the two of them to do, even if they had seen each other at the studio during the day, they would always make time to check in with each other every other day to make sure the other was doing ok. Sometimes they only video chatted for a few minutes, but other times Stacie seemed to sense when Beca was feeling lonely and they would end up chatting for an hour or two. Beca was embarrassed to admit that on more than one occasion Stacie had witnessed the small brunette drop off to sleep mid conversation if the hour was late enough, something that would gain her a good ribbing the next day from her close friend.

As Beca tapped her foot to the rhythm of the prominent beat that was swirling through her beloved headphones she felt a buzz coming from somewhere under a cushion. Upon arrival home, Beca had noticed that the Redhead had not yet text her. Beca knew she was busy at work, so to avoid constantly checking her phone for a message; she had hidden the device under a cushion. Beca lunged for her phone; nearly knocking her laptop off of her lap 'Jeeze Beca, calm down, it's only a text and you don't even know if it's from her yet' Beca internally scolded herself. As she looked at her phone's screen she saw a pop up alerting her of a new message from a number that she didn't recognise. Her heart started beating overtime and her palms began to sweat. She wiped her hands in her skinny jeans and entered her passcode into her phone. As she tapped on the message her smile grew tenfold. 'Hey Becs, thanks for the coffee earlier, you have no idea how pleased I was to see you! Chloe xxx'.  
Beca typed a message in response and hit send straight away. 'Hey there Red, I'm glad it was a nice surprise then! I was a little nervous, I wasn't sure if you were going to try and floor me again with a sweep kick or something ;) Beca xxx'

Chloe sat in her office beaming at her phone, she and Beca had been texting back and forth for the last twenty minutes and Chloe couldn't be happier. The conversation was flowing easily, it seemed that there had been no need for her earlier worrying, there was plenty of banter and even some flirting, something that Chloe was ecstatic about. She knew she was definitely attracted to the brunette and she was thrilled to think that Beca might be feeling the same way too.

The latest text from Beca lit up her screen 'I'm sorry you WHAT?! You were in an acapella group in Uni?!'. Chloe had learnt from a text a few prior to this, that Beca was a music producer and so she wanted to let the woman know that music was a big part of her life too - Aubrey and her had even made it to the final round of the NACC's in their last year of university, although unfortunately they came in second place to group called the SoCal VoCals from the University of Southern California and honestly, although Chloe was upset to not win, the SoCals were just amazing! 'Yeah we were called the Barden Bella's and we competed in national championships and once we played the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre! xxx' Chloe proudly explained. 'Although we did sing a fair amount of Mariah Carey and Ace of Base, I would have preferred to sing something from this century lol! Xxx'.

That was it, Beca couldn't contain her grin any longer, she and Chloe were getting on great and now that Beca knew that the redhead was also passionate about music she knew that she needed to learn more about the beauty. Beca backed out of her messages and hit the face time button on her phone. Chloe almost jumped when she heard her ringtone loudly playing Titanium instead of the expected 'ding' of her message tone. She saw the invitation on the screen to accept a face time video chat with 'Coffee Cup Cutie' and rushed to brush her fingers through her wavy hair before hitting the accept button and holding the phone up to her face so that the two women could see each other. As the image of Beca's face filled the screen Chloe's face felt like it was going to split with the extent of which she was smiling, she had almost forgotten how beautifully intense Beca's dark stormy eyes could look, but also managing to look soft at the same time as she gazed back at the redhead with an equally large grin. "Hey" Chloe managed to breath out, it was almost a whisper as she felt her breath taken away from the beauty radiating off of Beca; she was slouched on what looked like a sofa, with her headphones still looped loosely around her neck, and there was a light illuminating half of her face from what Chloe guessed was a window with the sunshine filtering through. "Hey yourself Red" Beca almost drawled in her best flirtatious tone. She had spent enough time around Stacie to know how to direct a flirty glance up through her eyelashes; however she was nowhere near as practised as her tall friend and so when she saw a slight blush rising up across Chloe's cheeks, the brunette could only barely contain a huge goofy lopsided grin that Chloe found adorable.

"So to what do I owe the pleasure?" Chloe enquired about the sporadic change of communication. "Couldn't wait to see me again huh?" Chloe teased, secretly hoping the answer from the gorgeous brunette would be yes. Beca smirked at the confidence that was now replacing the shy comments made by the redhead previously and with a smirk firmly in place she said "Actually, I had a question to ask you but it felt like more of a face to face request rather than by text".

"You can ask me anything" Chloe smiled with a wink.

 **A/N: I had very little time to get this chapter together as work has been crazy! Any mistakes are my own and I apologise! xoxo**


	4. Chapter 4

_**Worlds Collide**_

 **Chapter Four – 'A Good Day '**

 **Hi everyone! As always, thank you to all those who have read, favorited or followed** **I hope you continue to enjoy! Please feel free to review – all comments are greatly appreciated! If you feel like it then come say Hi on Tumblr:** _ **life-music-love**_

 **xoxo**

Beca took a deep breath and prepared herself for what she was about to do. She was nervous, and looking straight into those bright blue eyes was only causing her head to swim further. From the moment that Chloe's face popped up on the screen, Beca had felt breathless. Chloe's eyes had been dancing and sparkling with happiness, her grin was stretched right across her face and she was currently shooting over a wink that Beca was sure would be the death of her as her heart literally skipped a beat or two.

"You can ask me anything" Chloe said looking straight into the brunette's eyes, and Beca believed her. Trusting people did not come easily to Beca, she had been let down many times before in her past and it had caused her to construct many a forebodingly high wall that most people just simply couldn't be bothered to try and break through. She hoped that Chloe might be the type of person to at least try, after all, as Stacie had mentioned before, it was a very unusual occurrence for the tiny brunette to even take notice of someone, let alone actively pursue them.

Beca took a calming breath in, eyes never leaving the gaze of the redhead and planted a smirk onto her face. "Well, my question, and feel free to say no if you don't want to or if I am crossing a line here..." another quick confidence building breath, "would you like to come to a party with me tomorrow night?" Beca held her breath as she studied Chloe's reaction, half afraid that the other woman would end the video chat in a flurry of disgusted jibes. However what she saw was possibly the cutest coy smile she had ever seen as Chloe dipped her head and looked back up at the screen through her eyelashes "Beca Mitchell...are you asking me on a date?" she blushed. Beca almost stumbled under Chloe's breathtakingly beautiful gaze and blushed profusely, the red racing across her cheeks. "Umm yeah, I am. Chloe, would you like to be my date for the most highly un-anticipated small gathering of musically nerdy people this side of the West Coast?" Beca chuckled. "I would love to" Chloe shyly replied.

Beca explained that her boss was throwing a party at her place for the staff, some friends and few clients. It was to be a small affair, probably no more than 20 people in attendance, but it had been made clear that attendance for all staff would be mandatory. Chloe seemed excited at the prospect of spending time with Beca and mingling with people that she worked and socialised with, not to mention the fact that during their texting marathon Beca had mentioned her best friend Stacie a few times, and after enquiring if she would also be there, to which Beca replied she would, Chloe seemed thrilled with the idea of drilling her for embarrassing information and stories on the now seriously blushing brunette. "What have I let myself in for?!" Beca jokingly grumbled. "You have a night of amazing fun in store for you Becs, I can't wait to get to know you better" Chloe beamed through the screen. Beca was impressed with the level of openness that Chloe was showing. She was glad that the redhead was so open and honest; it was refreshingly different from the standoffish players that Beca had encountered in her brief dating history. "I can't wait too Red" Beca responded with a huge smile.

Shortly after that Chloe had begrudgingly told her that she should probably get back out onto the shop floor and help Emily, and so they had signed off of their video chat with the promise that Chloe would text Beca later that evening and they could finalise what time and where to meet.

* * *

A few hours later and Chloe was waving Emily goodbye as she dropped her employee off at the young girls' apartment. The two had grown close over the time that Emily had worked for Chloe and she would regularly drop the younger girl home if she had stayed to help Chloe close the shop, both of them filling the small space in the car with laughter and singing along to the radio or whatever playlist was streaming through Chloe's phone. After rounding the corner of Emily's street, Chloe pointed her car in the direction of her best friend's house, taking only a mild detour to their favourite Chinese restaurant to pick up food for their evening together at the blondes house.

Aubrey heard a knock on her door and as she opened it was greeted by an extremely happy redhead. They had been friends for a long time, and although Chloe was easily the happiest person that Aubrey had ever known, even she could tell that there was a little something extra behind the wide smile and twinkling eyes that faced her. "Hey Chlo-bear, come on in" Aubrey exclaimed as she took the food bags and a huge bunch of flowers from her friends hands. "Wow these flowers are beautiful, as always, thank you!" Aubrey gushed. "Just one of the perks of having an amazing best friend who just happens to own the most bitchin flower shop in the whole of LA" Chloe joked. "Really Chlo...'bitchin'?" Aubrey laughed. "What, I'm not cool enough to pull it off" Chloe whined as she air quoted the words 'cool enough'. The girls giggled as they made their way to the kitchen, where Aubrey arranged the bouquet into a vase and Chloe dished the food onto two plates and grabbed two bottles of water from the refrigerator. They headed to the central unit of the kitchen and both took a seat on the stools that lined it.

Chloe proceeded to catch Aubrey up on all of the gossip of the day since they had last spoken on the phone earlier in the afternoon, the blonde eyeing her friend suspiciously as she excitedly jabbered on and on and on about how 'Amazing and Beautiful' Beca is and that she had asked Chloe out on a date. Aubrey was happy that this 'Beca' had obviously made such a good impression on her friend, however as the best friend she felt the need to have the necessary 'Now Chloe, I understand you're excited but please don't rush into things' talk with the excitable redhead. Chloe knew that Aubrey was just being cautious and only had her best intentions at heart and was able to successfully calm her friends worries about the 'quickness' of the situation. "Honestly Bree if you could see the way she is with me, all shy and cautious and adorable, you'd be gushing too. Everything will be fine, I'll go to the party, we will have an aca-amazing time and then I'll go home. And if for any reasons something goes wrong, I have this amazing best friend who I know will be there in a flash if I need rescuing; which I won't cause Beca is AWESOME" Chloe rushed out altogether too quickly for any normal ear to understand, but Aubrey was used to her friends rambling and just smiled warmly at her in response, nudging their shoulders together as a sign of silent agreement and acceptance.

* * *

Beca huffed for what felt like the millionth time since Stacie and she had started their video chat on Skype. Currently Stacie was bobbing in and out of the screen in various stages of undress as she tried on multiple different outfits. "Beca please stop grumbling and just help me pick which top best shows off my boobs" Stacie begged. "Stace, they all look good, I honestly don't know why you go to all this trouble to take a client out for the night. You're not interested in sleeping with him, your gay for Christ sake, so what does it matter whether or not your boobs look good?!" Beca was growing tired of this routine, it seemed that most of her Friday evenings ended the same way, with her and Stacie having the same argument/disagreement every time. Beca knew that a huge part of Stacie's job was making contacts and wining and dining hot shot newbies, taking them to clubs and bars and restaurants trying to lure them into signing a contract with the studio, but what she didn't understand was why Stacie put so much effort into flirting with people that she just wanted interested in; it baffled the brunette producer. Stacie had a reputation as being a player, but the truth was that although Stacie dated a lot; she never let it last for longer than a few weeks before she would find a reason to toss them to the curb. They never directly discussed it, but Beca was sure that Stacie was just as scared of opening herself up to someone, to truly be open with them and let them love her, or even let herself love them in return.

As Stacie tore off yet another outfit Beca could hear her voice carrying from slightly further off screen. "Becs did you give me back that red and black skirt, you know the one that is modest on you, but wicked short on me?" Stacie asked as she returned in front of the screen clad only in matching red lacy underwear and wiggling her eyebrows suggestively. "God dude, modest much?!" Beca huffed as she averted her eyes from the screen. "Yeah I have it here at my place, now can you cover your junk and actually sit and have a proper conversation with me?" Beca implored.

"Firstly shorty, dig it out cause in precisely fifteen minutes I will be at your door to collect it, and secondly, get a bottle of wine out and ready, because once I have changed into my skirt I promise we will sit down face to face and you can tell me all about how it went with the flower shop girl, I'm assuming that's why you are whining like a toddler and being completely inpatient! Ok midget?" Stacie smirked. Beca sat glaring at her friend through the screen. "Nod your head twerp so I know you understand the directions" Stacie sarcastically laughed and winked at the smaller brunette. Beca nodded her head, stuck her middle finger up at the screen and said "I'm gonna make you pay for that when you get here Stace, mark my words, you'll pay" and then Beca hit the button on the laptop to end the conversation.

True to her word, roughly fifteen minutes later Stacie was knocking at Beca's apartment door. Beca opened the door, took in the appearance of the leggy brunette and took a step back opening the door to let Stacie pass as she laughed at her. "Wow Stacie, I don't think you even need the skirt, you look HOT!" Beca managed to get out through fits of laughter. Stacie had rocked up at her apartment wearing a tight fitting (and yes very revealing) black top, oversized baggy grey sweat pants, black high heels and a leather jacket. "What look were you going for here...Olivia Newton John in her 80's music video?!" Beca could hardly contain her laughter and the pure look of annoyance on Stacie's face only made her laugh even harder. "Very funny shorty, you have my skirt here remember so I just threw some comfy bottoms on! Besides, I drove here so no one saw me" Stacie retorted like it was obvious she wouldn't have walked over here dressed like that. "Oh and Beca, seriously, you might want to update your insults, really...Olivia Newton John? I love you Becs but not everyone has such an eclectic taste in music, most people wouldn't even know who she is!" Stacie giggled at how the tables had turned as Beca now sported her usual 'I'm annoyed as hell' frown and scowl at her. "Shut up Stace" Beca grumbled as she led the way into the lounge.

She tossed the skirt over to Stacie as she sat herself back down in her spot on the sofa. Stacie caught the flying item easily and proceeded to take off her pants and replace them with the extremely short skirt. "Jeeze dude, couldn't you of gone in the other room to do that" Beca remarked as she looked down to her phone in her hand. Chloe and she had been texting sporadically over the course of the evening, Chloe informing her that she was having dinner with her best friend and that she would be leaving to drive home before it got too late. Beca was so caught up in reading the latest text that she completely missed the fact that Stacie hadn't responded in her usual suggestive reply, nor did Beca notice the huge grin that Stacie was currently sporting as she noticed Beca smiling wide at her phone. When Beca did look back up after firing off a text telling Chloe to drive safe, she was greeted with a fully clothed Stacie holding two filled wine glasses walking back through from the kitchen. She offered one to Beca as she sat down on the sofa and started with an enthused..."So".

"So...what?" Beca enquired. "So...tell me what happened earlier, I take it from the stupid grin on your face that you went to see the redhead?" Stacie replied. Beca filled Stacie in on the details of what had transpired between the two of them, stopping briefly for an annoyed minute as Stacie clapped and smiled like an idiot cooing over the coffee cup message portion of the story, only to be interrupted again when Stacie asked why she had called the redhead to ask her out instead of just asking over text. "To be honest Stace, I don't really know. We started talking about music and there's just so much we have in common that I wanted to make sure it was really happening ya know? If I had asked her out over text there would have been too many ways to interpret her response. You know me dude, I would of gone crazy analysing any response I got, so it was kind of a spur of the moment thing, I wanted to see her face when I asked her, gauge her reaction I suppose." Beca explained. If anyone else had asked her, Beca would have never in a million years opened up and answered honestly, but she knew Stacie well enough to know that she could speak openly.

"Aww Becs...you really like her" Stacie beamed, which promptly gained her a punch in the arm from the smaller producer. "Shut up Stace, you know I hate you right?" Beca jested.

Beca and Stacie continued to chat and finished their glasses of wine but before long Stacie rose to her feet and said "Well Becs, it's been a blast but I better get going and meet this client. I'm going to grab a cab from outside, do you mind if I leave my car outside your place tonight? I'll come and grab it tomorrow afternoon before we go shopping." "Wait" Beca said clearly confused. "Yeah that's fine about leaving your car, but when did we arrange to go shopping?" Beca asked puzzled. "You have a hot date tomorrow dummy, you don't seriously think I'm going to let you dress yourself do you? Besides, I'm going to this party too so I figure I can treat myself to a new outfit at the same time. I'll pick you up at 1:30 sharp - be ready!" Stacie commanded as she headed for the door turning at the last moment to blow Beca a kiss and shoot her a wink. 'Oh crap' Beca thought to herself, 'there's no way I'm getting out of this'. She slumped back onto the sofa and placed her laptop onto her lap. She logged onto Facebook and clicked on the 'going' button of the party event invitation. She also left a quick message for her boss in the private message section that read _'Hey Cynthia Rose, I thought I better let you know that as you are making me come, I am dragging another poor soul with me. I hope that's cool? xx'_.

A few minutes later and Beca's phone flashed with an incoming message. ' _Hey Becs, just thought I'd let you know that I've just got home. Hope you're having a good evening with Stacie. I don't want to interrupt, just wanted to say goodnight - Chloe xxx'_. Beca smiled for felt like the millionth time that day as she typed her reply to the redhead. _'Hey Red, I'm glad your home safe :) Stacie left a while ago, she had an event to attend so it's just me and my glass of wine here now keeping each other company ;) xxx'_. Chloe's response took a few minutes to pop up on her phone so Beca threw her legs up onto the sofa and settled her back against the armrest to get more comfortable. Chloe's reply came through and Beca's phone vibrated against her leg. ' _Just a thought, but I'm settling in for the night, and wondered if you wanted to skype for a little while? If you are tired or busy though don't worry - Chloe xxx'_. Beca didn't even need to consider it; she pulled Skype up on her laptop and clicked on Chloe's contact number. Chloe answered almost immediately, and the first thing that Beca noticed was how beautiful the redhead looked. Chloe was settled against the headboard of her metal framed bed. Her hair was piled loosely on top of her head in a messy bun, her makeup had been removed and she was wearing an oversized band T-shirt.

Beca gaped openly at the redhead and was only reminded of how to speak when she noticed Chloe covering her mouth with her hand to try and stop a giggle from emerging. "You ok there Becs, you look a little stunned" Chloe chuckled with a smirk on her face. "Umm yeah, fine yup, I mean I'm fine" Beca managed to cough out. "I umm...damn Chloe, you look beautiful" Beca finally managed to say shyly with a blush taking over her whole face. Once again Chloe giggled and with a huge smile said a shy thank you to the brunette. It wasn't until Chloe shifted up a little in her sitting position that Beca managed to see what was on the front of her t-shirt. "You like Taylor Swift?" Beca asked. "Yeah I love her music and her actually, she's so awesome and kind and did you know about all the charity work she does and all the kindness she shows to her fans? Aubrey bought me this shirt at the 1989 world tour concert we went to a few weeks ago!" Chloe said in an excited tirade of words. Beca laughed at the adorableness that was Chloe Beale rambling and told Chloe that yes, she was aware of how 'awesome' Taylor Swift was and that it was really nice of her friend to buy her that as a present. "You're not mocking me are you, little Miss Music Producer?" Chloe asked in a wary tone. "No Chloe I'm not, I swear! I like some of her songs and from a producer point of view a lot of her stuff is genious" Beca told her.

They continued to chat for a while longer before Beca noticed Chloe's eyelids starting to droop. "I better let you get some sleep" Beca relented as just on que Chloe tried to hide a tired yawn. "But I'm not sleepy" Chloe whined like a small child being chided about bedtimes. "You are adorable, and yes you are sleepy head. It's ok, get some sleep and I promise I will text you when I wake up in the morning" Beca replied. "Ok, you promise though right?" Chloe asked. "Oh and don't think I didn't hear the adorable remark" Chloe said as she winked directly at the camera on her phone. Beca blushed for the hundredth time and smiled at Chloe. "Goodnight Red" was the only response that Beca gave. "Goodnight Becs" Chloe replied as she smiled huge, Beca ended the chat and rested her head back on the arm of the sofa behind her. 'This has been a good day' Beca thought to herself as she readied herself to get up and get ready for bed. It was getting late and she had a busy day lined up for tomorrow; what promised to be a torturous shopping trip with Stacie, and then a hot date with whom Beca was fast beginning to think was the most perfect, gorgeous, amazing woman she had ever met.

 **A/N: once again I have been crazy busy at work so I apologise if this has taken me a little longer to put together! I hope you enjoy and please feel free to leave a review if you feel inclined to do so! xoxo**


	5. Chapter 5

**_Worlds Collide_**

 **Chapter Five – 'The Mall'**

 **Hi everyone! As always, thank you to all those who have read, favorited or followed** **I hope you continue to enjoy! Please feel free to review – all comments are greatly appreciated!**

 **xoxo**

Beca awoke in the morning to sunshine pouring through her window, 'Urgh why didn't I shut the blinds last night' she grumbled to herself, inwardly cursing as she rolled over to put her back to the window and pulled the covers up higher around her small frame. She had intended on going back to sleep for a while longer, after all it was a Saturday which meant no work for her today. However her brain had other ideas, as soon as she closed her eyes again visions of Chloe from the previous evening flew through her mind, and the memory of her promise of texting her as soon as she awoke this morning, filtered through. Beca leant over and grabbed her phone as she slid up to a seated position whilst unlocking the device. Pulling up her messages she smiled as she saw the last message that Chloe had sent her the previous evening before their Skype Chat. She typed out a quick _'Morning Red! Hope you slept well? As promised here is your morning message ;) – Beca xxx'_ and hit send as she rested her head back against the headboard trying to decide if she should lounge in bed for a while or get up and showered.

The decision was made for her when only a few moments later her message tone could be heard from her phone. _'Hi Becs and good morning! I'm so glad you remembered your promise :D I slept really well and woke up totes fresh and bright this morning – did you see that sunrise? It was magnificent! – Chloe xxx'._ Beca smiled at the exuberance of the perky redhead. 'of course she's a morning person' Beca thought to herself, she should of seen that coming; from what she saw of Chloe in the short space of time since they had met, she could tell that the woman obviously had a very happy persona and just genuinely seemed to relish and take joy from all aspects of life. It was a quality that Beca admired, even if she didn't share the trait. _'Did I see the sunrise? Red I've literally just opened my eyes – What time did you get up if you saw it?'_ Chloe's response was instant _'I've been up since 6am, I like to go on an early run first thing in the morning before work, exercise is a great way to start your day off :D'_ she replied. Beca scoffed at the very idea of doing exercise, she walked to and from work and that was enough in her eyes. _'There's no way you could convince me that jogging is the best way to start my day'_ Beca replied.

' _I never said it had to be running now did I…there's plenty of other fun ways to get your heart rate up in the morning Becs ;)'_ was Chloe's response. Beca could instantly feel her cheeks burning with a wicked blush and was silently glad that Chloe wasn't able to witness it for herself. _'Are you propositioning me Red? And before we even have our first date? Tut Tut :P'._ Beca's replied. Her phone lit up with a response instantly _'Wow…sorry…I think you have the wrong number?!'_ Chloe joked back. Beca was grinning again, she found wit to be a very attractive quality in a woman and was pleased that Chloe could hold her own in the humour department. She texted the redhead back as she stood and lazily padded over to cupboard to grab out some fresh towels. _'Haha very funny Chlo! I've got to jump in the shower and get myself ready for the day…I've got a big date tonight and I kinda want to make a good impression ;) Speak a little later?'_ Chloe's response flashed up on the phone; _'Yeah of course, wow an important date huh, what a coincidence, I've got a hot date too tonight ;) – text me later xxx'_

Beca showered and spent the rest of the morning mixing on her laptop, she was purposely ignoring the fact that a t-shirt that a particular redhead had been wearing last night had inspired nearly all of the songs she had been working on thus far. Her music normally reflected her mood and this mornings creations had a much lighter feel to checked the time and noticed that Stacie was due to pick her up at any moment so she saved the mash-ups to a new folder titled 'Swift for Red' and turned the laptop off. As if right on cue, Stacie called Beca's phone, the loud ringtone filling the apartment and informed Beca that she was outside by the car and that she better get her short legs moving because they only had a few hours of shopping time.

* * *

After Chloe had finished talking with Beca over text she had driven over to Emily's house and taken them both to the flower shop. Saturdays were always busy and after making sure that the store was all set up, cash in the register and all of the stock displayed neatly outside the entrance Chloe made her way into her office and sat down at her desk. Pulling out her phone she called through some of her occasional weekend workers in her contacts list to see if any would agree to work an afternoon shift on short notice. Chloe very rarely took Saturdays off, so she didn't have an extensive back up list of people who she could ask to help out, she was however, very pleased that one of Emily's closest friends, who had worked a few sporadic shifts for her previously, had agreed to lend a helping hand so that Chloe would have time to get ready for her last minute date tonight. She had no idea what she was going to wear and truth be told she was starting to panic a little. She really wanted to look good for Beca, she was extremely attracted to the brunette and was hoping that their date went well.

Chloe had worked herself up into a nervous state and upon calling Aubrey for advise of what to wear, had readily accepted the blondes invitation to head to the local mall and go shopping for what Aubrey called 'operation date wear'. They had arranged to meet outside of the Starbucks on the ground level at 2pm. The time was now 1:50pm and Chloe was making her way through the main doors as she strolled towards the coffee shop. She could see Aubrey already waiting outside of the coffee shop and wasn't in the least bit surprised that her friend was early; Aubrey had always been a stickler for timings and despised being late to anything, it was a quality that Chloe had inadvertently picked up on herself from spending so much time with Aubrey over the years. Aubrey spotted Chloe as she neared the shop and waved happily at the redhead. They greeted each other with a warm hug and chatted excitedly about which shops to head to first and what kind of clothes Chloe wanted to look for. Aubrey suggested that as it was a 'house party' maybe jeans and a top would be appropriate, and so off they headed up the escalator to find the perfect outfit.

They had been in five different clothes stores so far and Chloe still had no idea what to wear that night. Aubrey was busy scanning a rail and holding up various different items when all of a sudden Chloe heard a voice that she recognised all too well getting progressively closer to them. '"I'm warning you Stace, if you don't start picking out appropriate clothing options I'm going to turn and head straight out of here!" Beca grumbled as she walked next to Stacie glaring up at a pair of really short hot pants and a crop top that Stacie was currently showing her. Chloe turned and saw the back of Beca's head as she passed behind her looking the opposite direction to the redhead. Beca had clearly not spotted Chloe in the shop yet. The taller of the women grinned as she messed up the hair on top of Beca's head and said "Aww grumpy Beca is just so adorable! Stop whining midget or I won't help you find an outfit to impress 'the most gorgeous woman you have ever seen'" Stacie mocked as she air quoted the last part with two fingers of each hand. Beca gently shoved Stacie away and quickly tried to flatten down her now messy hair all the while looking at Stacie like she wanted to punch her. Chloe couldn't help herself and turned around completely to address the two woman behind her. "Excuse me but I couldn't help but over hear your conversation" Chloe said with a smug smile on her face. The sudden change in conversation alerted Aubrey and she walked over to stand next to Chloe, a confused expression on her face as to why Chloe would be interrupting a stranger's conversation.

Beca spun around and came face to face with Chloe, her face instantly blazing at the realisation and shock that a) Chloe was stood in front of her looking as beautiful as she always did, and b) that Chloe had also heard, through Stacie, what Beca had said about her. "I umm, hey, hey Chloe, she wasn't talking about you" she stammered out pointing at Stacie. "I mean yeah, of course she was talking about you, I haven't said that about anyone else, cos duh, look at you, you're gorgeous, and yeah, I'm stoked to see you, I mean it's great to see you, I don't say 'stoked', I don't know why I said that… Oh My God I need to stop talking now!" Beca rambled at an alarmingly fast rate. She looked helplessly at Stacie to save her as Chloe giggled at the adorableness that is a flustered Beca Mitchell.

"Well….." Stacie started, "I will certainly be using that whole exchange as future blackmail material" she joked, extending her hand to Chloe. "I'm Stacie, it's nice to meet you" the tall woman smiled shaking the redhead's hand. "It's nice to meet you too Stacie. I'm Chloe and this is my best friend Aubrey Posen" she said looking at Beca as means of an introduction. "It's nice to meet you Au..." Beca started but was quickly elbowed out of the way by Stacie who had not taken her eyes off of the blonde since Chloe introduced her. "Hi Aubrey, it's a pleasure to meet you" Stacie said as she threw a well-timed wink at the woman and ending up standing entirely in front of Beca blocking the blonde from the brunettes view. "What the hell dude?" Beca grumbled as she side stepped to the right and watched the colour rise in the blonde's cheeks before Aubrey quickly dipped her head with a shy smile whilst looking up at Stacie and saying hello in return.

"So…." Chloe continued now looking only at Beca, "You think I'm the most gorgeous woman you have ever seen huh?" Chloe teased. Beca raked a nervous hand through her hair which ended up nervously rubbing the back of her neck feeling the most embarrassed that she has ever felt. Deciding that she might as well just go for it now due to the fact that she couldn't possibly blush any harder than she already is, she said "Yeah I mean, have you seen YOU? You're gorgeous Chlo". Chloe's heart melted a little right there, right then, she was genuinely touched by Beca's words and in true Chloe fashion she scooped the smaller brunette up in a tight hug and placed a quick 'thank you' kiss on Beca's cheek. As she stepped back she noticed that Stacie was shooting Beca an amused look with her eyebrow raised which resulted in Beca punching her in the arm.

Aubrey had also seen the exchange and was looking directly at Beca with her own eyebrow raised but in an entirely unfriendly manner. "So Beca, as you know, I am Chloe's best friend and I think it only appropriate that I ask what your intentions for this evening are?" Aubrey stated in what Beca thought she was trying to sell as a threatening tone. "I intend to make her my sex slave obviously" Beca said in her best sarcastic tone. Chloe giggled again opposite her, raising her hand to cover her mouth from Aubrey's disapproving glare. Upon seeing the look on Aubrey's face Beca followed up by saying "Okay, obviously not a humorous person….My intentions are purely to make sure that Chloe has a great time." Now turning her head slightly so that she was directly facing Chloe she continued "I figure we can get to know each other better, have a few drinks and if Red here" looking back at Aubrey and pointing to Chloe with her thumb "is really lucky then I might even let her persuade me to dance" she finished with a smile directed at the now grinning redhead.

Aubrey looked on at Beca clearly unimpressed. "Hmmmmm" was the only response that she gave, as her stare seemed to harden even more at the small brunette. "Okay…" Stacie said trying to break the tension that was forming in the air between her best friend and the blonde woman opposite her. Stacie looked over at Aubrey and couldn't help but appreciate how attractive she was, in a sexy, stern way she thought. Before she knew what she was doing she had put on her best sultry flirty voice and was talking directly to the blonde saying "I tell you what, why don't you accompany me as my date to the party tonight and we can keep an eye on this little cute couple together, you never know, you may even forget all about them as the night goes on?" she shot a wink at Aubrey as she brushed her hand down the length of Aubrey's arm and expertly ignored the side glare that Beca was shooting her.

Aubrey stood shell shocked, one moment she was playing the stern best friend card to a little alt midget with monstrosities for ear piercings, and the next moment a VERY attractive woman is asking her to be her date. It was safe to say that Aubrey was thrown. Chloe noticed this instantly, she had also noticed the uncharacteristic shy smile that Aubrey had shown the taller woman previously and so she invoked her best friend duties and answered for her "She'd love to Stacie, although I would rather you two weren't spying on my hot date all night, so maybe less of the 'keeping an eye on us and more of the enjoying the party together'?" Chloe laughed. Beca loved to hear the redhead's laughter and figured that if it would make Chloe happy then she would gladly go along with it, even if she would be having words with Stacie as soon as they were alone. "Ok so it's settled, Chloe and I will be attending the party together as will Stacie and Audrey". Aubrey instantly bristled and corrected Beca with a harsh tight lipped: "It's Aubrey". Of course Beca knew this already, she just wanted to get her own back for earlier in the conversation and she found that she actually quite enjoyed annoying the tightly wound blonde.

"Right, well seeing as now both shorty and I need to find outfits for this evening, I think we better all continue off in our separate ways" Stacie smiled. Chloe raised an eyebrow at Beca at the use of the name 'shorty' and chuckled when Beca just gave an annoyed eye roll in response. "It was lovely to meet you both, oh and Aubrey, text me your address and I'll come and pick you up tonight. Shall we say 8pm?" Stacie continued as she slipped her card into Aubrey's hand and winked again, mainly just to see the blonde blush again, she found it rather cute. Aubrey took the card with a smile and confirmed that she would text her details to Stacie.

The girls all said their goodbye's, with Chloe engulfing Beca in yet another hug (this was something that Beca would need to get used to it seemed) and continued with their shopping. Aubrey of course had not taken long to get over her shell shock and realise that she had actually agreed to a date with the leggy brunette and would need to find something drop dead gorgeous to wear herself. She was on a mission and Chloe laughed at how the turn of events had landed them both with dates and going to the same party. On the other side of the mall Beca was grilling Stacie on how she was now going to be under the watchful eye of her date's best friend all night and warning Stacie that she better not cramp her style. Stacie laughed out loud at this and reminded Beca that she had in fact witnessed the rambling mess that the redhead had caused the self-titled 'badass' to turn into. Beca was defeated and she knew it "Dude I swear if you tell anyone, you're a dead man"!

 **A/N: I'm not going to lie, I really struggled to pull any time together to write this chapter (work was crazy busy again and I have a hen party to attend this weekend so I won't have time to write then) I hope this chapter doesn't come across as too rushed :/**

 **I'm also not sure if people want a little side of Stacie and Aubrey or just keep the whole focus on Beca and Chloe…let me know if you have strong feelings either way and I will keep that under consideration!**

 **xoxo**


	6. Chapter 6

**_Worlds Collide_**

 **Chapter Six – 'Red lights, Red hair and Taylor Swift Songs'**

 **Hi everyone! As always, thank you to all those who have read, reviewed, favorited or followed,** **I hope you continue to enjoy! I got some thumbs up for Staubrey so let's keep going with that side story and see where it takes us! Please feel free to review – all comments are greatly appreciated!**

 **xoxo**

Beca and Stacie had finished up their shopping, both pleased with the outfits that they had eventually been able to find. The rest of the journey back to Beca's consisted of Stacie grumbling about the fact that Beca had flat out refused to buy new shoes. "Stace for the last time, there is no way on this planet that I would have been able to walk in those shoes! Besides, my lucky converse will go well with those new jeans and I will be less likely to fall flat on my face in front of Chloe tonight, thus not making an ass out of myself!" Beca retorted. Stacie began to counter her argument but Beca simply turned the radio on and upped the volume until she could no longer hear her best friend's whinging. Stacie knew when she wasn't going to win so simply started singing along to the country tune on the radio.

She dropped Beca off at the small brunettes apartment and headed back to her own place to get ready for her newly scheduled date that evening, winding her window down as she started to drive off and yelling "I'll see you at Cynthia's place later – good luck with your date!" and with a small wave she was off.

Beca entered her apartment and headed straight to her bedroom to deposit her shopping bags onto her bed. She glanced at her watch noticing that it was already gone 5pm and decided that she should probably jump in the shower and start getting ready. She had previously arranged with Chloe that she would pick her up at 7.30pm and drive them both to the party. Normally Beca would turn up half way through a party once it had livened up a bit and most people were too drunk to want to start 'boring' conversations with her; it was always the same thing, the same questions, the same looks of annoyance when they didn't 'get' Beca's sarcastic humour, choosing instead to believe that she was just being rude, and they would turn their backs and continue the conversations without her. The only time people really gave Beca the time of day is when they would hear her mixing at the close of the night, DJ-ing the party and keeping it going with a lively beat until the sun came up again. But this time it was different, it wasn't a client only event, it wasn't a nightclub she was obligated to attend to try and network to help Stacie out with finding talent for the studio, it was a party with all of her friends and she told herself that _THAT_ was the difference, that her excitement and eagerness for this party had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that she was excited to spend as much time as possible tonight with a certain gorgeous redhead.

Once showered and her hair dried and styled into loose waves, Beca got changed into her new outfit. Earlier she had bought a pair of ripped dark grey skinny jeans, a dark blue vest top, a fitted black blazer and dark blue scarf that Stacie just insisted she buy. As she had already informed Stacie previously in the car, she intended to wear her trusty black converse to finish off the look. As she finished off her makeup, signature eyeliner in place, she sprayed her favourite perfume, grabbed her black purse with her keys, lip balm, eyeliner, a bunch of usb's in case she got roped into DJ-ing (this frequently happened at her boss's parties) and her phone and headed out of the door.

The time was just gone 7pm and as Beca set her gear up in the car; phone connected to the sound system so that she could play one of her many playlists, and a GPS system which she had already entered Chloe's address into), she sent a quick text to the redhead. _'Hey Red, I'm just about to set off, GPS says that I should get to you in about 20 minutes, depending on traffic :/ - Beca xxx'_ Chloe sent back a response and Beca couldn't keep the smile off her face as she read the message; _'I'm really looking forward to tonight, to getting to know you better, and to finding ways of convincing you to dance with me ;) See you soon! – Chloe xxx'_ Beca then skipped through her playlists on her phone until she found the one she was looking for entitled 'Pumped up Kicks' and hit play, cranking the volume as she pulled out of her street and followed the route to Chloe's house singing along to the songs screaming through the car.

As she pulled up outside she killed the engine. She was nervous, 'I'm Beca effin Mitchell' she thought to herself, 'I don't do nerves….what the hell is wrong with me?!' She wiped her now sweating palms on her jeans and took a deep calming breath, climbing out of the car and checking her reflection in the window one last time before climbing the steps to Chloe's front door. She knocked gently three times and took in one more steadying breath as the door opened.

* * *

Chloe had been nervous this morning when thinking about the date, but after seeing Beca be so adorable at the shopping mall earlier, she had relaxed considerably. The pep talk that Aubrey gave her certainly helped too. Chloe thought back to the conversation that they had earlier that day; "The midget must like you Chlo-bear, she asked you on a date and did you see what an embarrassed state she got into when she knew you had overheard how she had described you, man I can't wait to rib that little sarcastic ball of eyeliner about that later!" Aubrey snickered, still riled at the fact that Beca had called her by the wrong name, and she was sure she had done it on purpose!. "You will do no such thing Aubrey 'meanie' Posen, and yes I will change your name to that on my phone later if you don't start being nicer about Beca" Chloe warned the blonde smiling only half serious about the name change. She had really thought about what Aubrey had said and had decided that she shouldn't be nervous, Beca obviously saw something in Chloe that she liked and so she had promised herself that she would just be herself tonight.

Chloe checked her hair in the mirror for the hundredth time, wanting it to look just right, and cursing her unruly tames as yet another curl bounced out of place. She gave up and applied her red lipstick as the last touch to her outfit (she was wearing a short tight fitting black skirt, a white strappy top and her newly bought bright yellow blazer and the same coloured pointy toed heels). Just then she heard knocking at her door and as she checked the time on her phone as she also grabbed her purse, she noticed that it was 7.26pm so it must be Beca here to pick her up.

She opened the door and instantly noticed that Beca's eyes were wide and she was slowly eyeing the redhead from head to toe with her mouth hanging slightly ajar. "You ok there Becs?" Chloe enquired as she started to feel nervous that Beca maybe didn't like the outfit she had picked out, maybe her skirt was too short, or maybe Beca wasn't a fan of the bright yellow she had chosen. Beca's brain finally caught up and she shot her eyes back up to the woman in front of her "Wow….Chloe…you look…just wow! You look beautiful" Beca managed to stammer out. Chloe blushed and leant forward as she said "Thank you Becs, you look super-hot too" as she gently kissed Beca's cheek, giggling slightly as she then wiped off the lipstick mark she had left behind. Beca chuckled at her action and held her hand out to Chloe asking if she was ready to go. Chloe gladly slipped her hand into Beca's and marvelled at how warm and right it felt to be touching the brunette stating that she was ready and 'let's get to this party so we can get our jiggle juice on!'. Beca raised her eyebrow quizzically at Chloe wondering what the hell a 'jiggle juice' was and what would happen once they had some, but soon slipped back into what was quickly becoming a permanent smile when she was around Chloe. She opened the passenger door for the redhead; an action that made Chloe secretly swoon inside, and then headed around to the driver's side and settled into the car herself.

"What?" Chloe enquired with a shy smile when Beca just sat staring at her. "Just taking in the moment Red, it's not every day that a beautiful redhead agrees to go on a date with me, I just want to savour the moment". Beca was more than mildly impressed with herself; she had managed a compliment, a smooth one at that, and without blushing like an idiot. She put it down to the fact that the more time she spent with the woman sat across from her, the more comfortable she was beginning to feel, like a single smile from the redhead could calm all her fears. Chloe blushed again and swiped at Beca's arm playfully telling her that she 'probably used that line on all the girls'. Beca laughed "hey, no beating up the driver". As she turned the key to the ignition, the engine and the music roared back to life. Beca looked sheepishly at Chloe as she turned the volume down to an acceptable background level mouthing a quick 'oops, sorry'. Chloe just giggled and sat back in the seat, pointing out of the windshield and stating 'forward to the party my kind chauffer!' Beca laughed whole heartedly, pretended to tip a hat and said "right away m'lady" and stepped on the accelerator.

The 30 minute drive to Cynthia Rose's house was filled with laughter and small talk as the girls simply enjoyed each other's company. Beca would smile when she would hear Chloe quietly singing along to the songs that she knew and didn't object at all when the redhead asked if she could pick the next song from Beca's phone. "What is this playlist" Chloe asked as she faced the phone towards Beca as they pulled up at a red light, the phone showing a list entitled 'Swift for Red'. Beca's face flushed a bright red as she try to pass it off as "Just some mixes I started working on earlier today". Chloe grinned at the now seemingly flustered brunette and decided to keep on fishing for an explanation as to her dates now completely blushed complexion. "Ok…so what's with the blushing…is it rude songs Miss Mitchell…are there a few 'lady jams' on here?" she added with a wink and a suggestive wiggle of her eyebrows causing Beca to open her mouth in shock. "Of course not!" she exclaimed shocked at the way the conversation had headed. Not that she really minded, she enjoyed banter as much as the next person, but somehow thinking about Chloe and 'lady jams' in the same sentence were not helping with her furiously flushing face. She needed to stop this line of questioning before any images popped into her head. "It's uh…it's actually something I was working on for you" Beca stated quietly, hand rubbing the back of her neck nervously. The lights turned green and Beca was glad for the distraction, eyes now back on the road. She didn't see the huge smile that graced the redheads face, or the way her eyes slightly brimmed with water as she realised that the producer had been making something with her in mind.

"Can I put it on?" Chloe asked looking at Beca with hope in her eyes. "Dude No" Beca almost yelped in embarrassment. She turned to look at the redhead and saw the look of sadness in her eyes. She didn't want to be the cause of that look. As if on cue Chloe stuck out her bottom lip in a pout and gave Beca her best puppy dog look as she quietly drew out the word 'plleeaassee'. Beca gave in. Of course she did, I mean' who in their right mind could refuse Chloe anything when she gave them look' she thought to herself. "Ok but bear in mind it's not finished yet, there's a couple of sections I want to re-do to make it perfect for you" Beca conceded as she turned the volume up slightly on the control panel. "It's a clever title" Chloe beamed as the music swept through the car. The first mash up had just played, a seamless combination of 'we are never getting back together' & 'bad blood', the next just starting to filter through, a beautiful combination of 'Style' and 'This Love'. "Swift for Red" Chloe continued, "….was the Red to do with what you call me or her album of that title?" Chloe enquired with a smirk. "Bit of a big head there Red" Beca joked as she winked at the giggling woman sat in the passenger's seat. "I'm not telling" Beca laughed. "We'll see…" was Chloe's response.

They pulled up into the drive way to Cynthia Rose's house and Beca killed the engine. Beca shot Chloe a smouldering smile as she jumped out of the car and jogged around to the passenger side to open the door for Chloe. Offering her hand out for her to take, they entwined their fingers and Beca led them around the back of the property towards the large garden where they could already hear music and chatter from other guests. As they walked up the steps that led to the decking area Beca spotted Cynthia Rose and headed in her direction. Cynthia was stood talking to Fat Amy, and as soon as the Australian receptionist spotted Beca she threw her arms up in the air and shouted "SHAW SHANK! YOU MADE IT!" Beca gave Chloe's hand a gentle squeeze and lead them to a stop next to her friends. "Hey Amy, good to see you" Beca smiled and the two of them high fived. Chloe giggled from beside her and lent in to whisper "Shaw Shank….should I be worried?" Beca returned her smile and joked that it was a long story but she shouldn't be alarmed.

They were bought out of their little bubble when Cynthia Rose subtlety cleared her throat and looked questionably at Beca and Chloe's entwined hands with a giant smirk on her face. She stepped forward and raised her hand to shake Chloe's. "Hi I'm Cynthia Rose and welcome to my party". "Thank you so much for not minding me tagging along with Beca, you have a beautiful home" Chloe smiled in return. "Hey no problem, anyone that can get this little DJ to a party on time and actually smiling upon arrival is more than ok in my eyes" Cynthia chuckled. "Ok Ok" Beca interjected "I can see how this is going to go!" as she mock scowled at her boss. "I'm going to take us up to the house to get a drink, have Stacie and Jess arrived yet?" Beca enquired. "Yeah your girl is already up in the kitchen with some tall skinny blonde, they got here just before you" Amy replied.

As they entered the kitchen they saw multiple people stood around chatting. Beca spotted Stacie immediately, she was after all a good foot taller than most of the other people in the room. As Beca led them through the kitchen she was suddenly jumped on from the side, throwing her slightly off balance. "What the hell dude?" Beca snarked at the person now attached to her side, she was soon cut off though as she noticed that it was in fact Jess and chuckled at the exuberant and obviously already slightly intoxicated blonde. "Hey Beca, I'm so glad you got here… everyone is so dull, no one will do shots with me" the younger woman pouted. It was at this point, as Beca used her one free arm to half hug her friend in an awkward quick two patted embrace before letting go, that Jess actually noticed the redhead who was attached to her friends other arm. "Oh hi! I'm Jess, I work with Beca…I don't think we've met before?" Jess's enthusiasm at meeting a new person was evident in her voice. Chloe introduced herself "Hi I'm Chloe, I'm Beca's date" she smiled. "What?!" Jess's smile grew even wider, knowing that it was a huge deal for Beca to bring a date with her to a party, hell to even be out on a date in the first place! "Oh my god, I can't believe that both you and Stacie have turned up with hot dates and not one of you even bothered to tell me" Jess said in mock annoyance, throwing a friendly punch at Beca's arm to let her know she was only joking.

At the very loud mention of her name, Stacie turned and noticed that Beca and Chloe had arrived at the party. She turned to Aubrey with a smile and asked if she wanted to go and say hi. Both women made their way over to their best friends and Chloe instantly threw her arm around Aubrey bringing her in for a bone crushing hug. "Ok Chloe, I literally only saw you a few hours ago, no need to wrinkle my dress" Aubrey laughed at her friend. Her smile dropping quite a few notches as she faced Beca and simply nodded a hello. Beca noticed the change in expression and put on her best fake smile as she decided that she should make an effort for Chloe. "Hi Aubrey….you look very nice this evening" Chloe's beaming smile immediately let Beca know that she had taken the correct route and she felt her own smile turn into a genuine one. "Stacie, you look…..hmmm…ok I guess" she teased her best friend, which resulted in Stacie just shrugging her shoulders and saying "Well we all know your only focus is on a certain Redhead now, I'm not surprised your blinkered to my hotness" she laughed, Beca's face instantly turning the same shade as her date's hair. "Ok, that's it, I need a drink, like right now" Beca grumbled. Chloe linked her hand back into Beca's and placed a kiss on her cheek "you're so cute when your blushing" she giggled and Beca blushed even harder.

The group headed over to the portion of the kitchen that held the alcohol and before long all five of them had picked and poured their drinks. Jess had of course insisted that all of the people directly around her needed to get aboard the shots train and after everyone had thrown back a shot of tequila, Beca led them all back outside to where they had previously seen Cynthia Rose and Amy. Cynthia Rose had been joined by two new clients, introductions were made and before long Stacie was dragging Aubrey to a clearer part of the decking that was being used as a make shift dance floor. Within a heart beat the leggy brunette was only inches away from a very flustered Aubrey. Stacie leant in closer and tried to ease the blonde's nerves only to find that Aubrey was turning a deep shade of red as Stacie's hands wrapped loosely around her neck bringing them closer together. She was nervously looking around at the few people that were dancing freely around them. "Take it easy Aubrey; it's just dancing, let loose and just feel the music" Aubrey was still flustered but felt a little more at ease by her dates words of encouragement.

Chloe looked expectantly at Beca, puppy dog eyes on full power. "Not a chance Red, I'm going to need a hell of a lot more shots before I will even contemplate dancing, you've not seen me, I'm all hands waving and uncoordinated swaying" Beca laughed, already knowing that if Chloe asked out loud she would not be able to deny the gorgeous woman in front of her. Chloe took hold of both ends of the scarf draped around Beca's shoulders, slowly pulling the brunette towards her. Beca's heart stopped in her chest, she was sure the redhead was about to kiss her, but at the last moment Chloe changed the direction of her lean and whispered into the producers ear "Beca Mitchell, please will you dance with me?" it was almost a purr, and as Chloe leant her head back slightly so she could look into Beca's eyes, her body stayed where it was, nestled snuggly against Beca's front. There was no escaping it, Beca was already following Chloe to the dance floor and she heard Amy telling Cynthia Rose how whipped she already was.

 **A/N: Sorry for the delay, I was really trying to keep to a schedule for writing and uploading but that kind of went out of the window this week. I hope you like this chapter and if you do, why not leave a little review ;)**

 **xoxo**


	7. Chapter 7

_**Worlds Collide**_

 _ **Chapter Seven – 'Whiskey and Surprises'**_

 _ **Hi everyone! As always, thank you to all those who have read, favourited or followed - I hope you continue to enjoy!**_

 _ **xoxo**_

Beca had followed Chloe to the section of the decking where a few people were dancing, yes she had willingly followed the redhead, but she had no intention of dancing…she was far too sober, the night was very young and there were definitely not enough people on the 'dance floor' to hide her movements from mocking eyes. Just behind Beca, Chloe could see Stacie, arms wrapped around Aubrey's neck, and her blonde best friend's hands were resting on the leggy brunette's hips, both moving together as the music swept over them. Chloe could tell from Aubrey's expression that she wasn't entirely in her comfort zone, but Chloe figured that if she didn't want to dance then she wouldn't be, Aubrey was never afraid of voicing her opinion and so she just sent a huge grin over at the two women making sure that she was nearby if her friend were to need her. Stacie was the first to notice them and smiled back adding a little nod in the direction of Beca who was now just standing next to Chloe not moving with her arms straight beside her sides. Chloe turned and looked at Beca expectantly, obviously expecting Beca to move in closer and start dancing instead of the statue she was seemingly imitating before her as the fast beat of the music still played around them. 

The next thing she knew, Stacie had stepped up beside her and was shooting a smarmy grin at Beca. She spoke to Chloe directly. "You know I admire you for trying Chloe, but our favourite little midget here won't do a spot of dancing without a few more shots in her system". Chloe giggled and instead of the sounds of complaint that Beca would have expected from anyone else, Chloe said with a smile directed towards Beca "well then ladies….I think that it might be time for a refill – does anyone want another drink?" Beca sighed in relief and nodded her head thankfully, once again offering her hand for Chloe to take. 

Stacie and Aubrey decided to join them, with Amy following along as they passed her on the way to the kitchen. The gang arrived at the drinks station and each decided what they wanted to drink. Beca took on the role of bartender and offered to make the drinks for the group. Chloe decided on a margarita, Aubrey a glass of white wine, Amy a rum and coke, and Stacie a vodka and cranberry. Beca finished off by fixing herself a glass of Jack Daniels and coke and then lined up a whiskey shot for all present (except Aubrey who had declined – much to the amusement of Beca who had been quickly elbowed in the ribs and told to shush by Stacie as soon as she opened her mouth to sarcastically say 'of course you won't do one').

Chloe had accepted the shot glass that Beca had passed to her with a quirk of an eyebrow. Amy jumped in upon seeing the questioning action from the redhead and explained "Shorty here fancies herself a bit of a secret cowgirl and loves her whiskey, oh and if you really want to make sure she dances with you later then just make sure you get a decent country tune on" The Australian added as Beca physically grimaced. The laughter that erupted around the group caused a huge blush to spread over a now very grumpy looking Beca's face. Chloe took this as confirmation that this information was in fact correct and lent in so only Beca could hear her as she whispered 'I've always thought cowgirls were totally sexy" as she winked and once again kissed the brunette's cheek.

The smile that spread across Beca's face was instant, she may have been embarrassed by Amy's admission about her love of country music, but as long as Chloe didn't think it was a bad thing then she didn't care if the others made fun of her. Besides, she was a music producer, it was important to her career that she had an eclectic taste in all types of music she reasoned with herself. The girls all raised their shot glasses and with a smile Chloe said "To Nashville" in her best southern accent, the glasses clinked together as each of them threw back their shot. It was Beca's turn to lean into Chloe's side as she whispered "That was a pretty good accent there Red, I'm impressed". Chloe smiled "Well I've had plenty of practice over the years, my grandparents live in Belle Mead in Nashville, and I go and visit them as much as I can. I bet you'd love it there Becs, it's literally a ten minute drive away from the famous Bluebird café" Chloe explained. Beca smiled at the recognition of the famous café and led them over to some nearby seats so they could continue talking, taking a great interest in everything that the redhead was saying to her. Chloe couldn't have been happier, she loved that Beca was genuinely interested in what she had to say and that they could actually have a conversation without one of them stumbling over their words or blushing.

* * *

Stacie and Aubrey had spent some time talking with Cynthia Rose and other various people at the party. They were currently sat at the far end of the garden on a three seater wicker chair. "I'm having a really good time tonight Conrad" Aubrey admitted as she gazed at the brunette. "You sound surprised by that?" Stacie replied with a smile gracing her lips. "No not at all….ok a little…I didn't really know what to expect. I mean, I don't really know anything about you, and my dad always said that Intel was more important than spontaneity" Aubrey explained. "Wow..umm your dad sounds…fun?!" Stacie quirked her eyebrow, "He always full of fun little quotes like that?" She enquired. "He is certainly never the soul of the party" Aubrey laughed. "Well then I'll tell you what cutie" Stacie almost purred "If you grace me with a second date, I promise we can go for a nice intimate dinner, just the two of us, and you can ask me anything you like?" Aubrey blushed, a little taken aback by the brunettes brazenness, but nodded a small shy yes as Stacie beamed and leant in slowly, hands on either side of Aubrey's face as they shared a short but sweet kiss, foreheads leaning together Aubrey smiled up at Stacie through her eyelashes as a contented sigh escaped her lips.

Beca and Chloe had been laughing together along to one of Amy's incredulous stories that she was currently telling a group of people in the garden, about how she had drunkenly challenged a kangaroo to a boxing match but had ended up being arrested and detained for damaging private property. It turned out that Amy had been so drunk that she hadn't noticed that the kangaroo was actually a marketing statue outside of a camping shop called 'skip, hop and bushy' in her home town, and had managed to completely knock the head off of the plastic statue. Chloe was still wiping tears from under her eye when she excused herself to go and get another drink. "I'll come with you" Beca said already wrapping their hands together, Chloe's smile managing even new levels and the two headed to the kitchen. Beca started making the refills to their drinks, sticking with the same as previously. Chloe smirked when she noted Beca lining up another whiskey shot for the both of them. Chloe in her best southern accent said "Hey there cowgirl, are you needing some old whiskey courage before asking me to join you at a good ol' fashioned barn dance?" Chloe giggled as Beca just smirked and replied "It's going to take more than a few shots to get me to dance with you Red, I'm just hoping that this shot will help drown out that awful noise" as she pointed to the living room where one of the guests were currently entertaining a small group of people with their drunken rendition of 'Rolling In The Deep' by Adele on the karaoke machine. Chloe turned to see where Beca's narrowed eyes were looking and as soon as she realised that there was a karaoke machine, she almost jumped and squealed in delight. Beca's eyes went wide in shock "No…no way Red, absolutely not….we are NOT doing karaoke!" she said sternly. Chloe however was not about to take no for an answer and all but begged the brunette to allow her just one duet. "Nope" Beca popped the 'P' but the beginning of a smile was forming on her face. Chloe took full advantage of this apparent slip in determination and leant forward to grab the whiskey shot from behind Beca, purposefully running her hand over her hip to steady herself as she leant back to replace the glass. She licked her lips slowly, an action that Beca couldn't pull her gaze from, and then gave one more sultry 'please' as all of Beca's resolve crumbled around her. "Okay…one song, but I'm picking it" the producer faux grumbled.

Beca soon regretted this decision. Word around the house and garden spread quickly and a crowd had gathered in the lounge and kitchen to witness the historic event of Beca 'Badass' Mitchell actually partaking in karaoke. Cynthia rose already had her phone out ready to record and was loudly whooping the pair as Chloe and Beca each picked up a microphone. Even Stacie, with Aubrey firmly at her side, had taken a place amongst the crowd and was clapping and whistling in anticipation, she was more than surprised at the way that Beca was allowing herself to be more social and outgoing and could only attribute it to the bubbly redhead who was grinning widely at the small brunette. Beca took a calming breath, her heart was beating frantically as she tried her hardest not to focus on the ribbing she was bound to receive from her best friend and colleagues. Chloe noticed the change in Beca's expression and moved closer to the producer, linking their arms and placing a quick reassuring kiss on Beca's cheek. Beca's eyes instantly found Chloe's and she felt herself calm slightly. 'Just focus on the song Beca' she thought to herself. She knew this song inside out, it was one of her favourites and she had used it in multiple different mixes over time. She knew every word, every beat, every lilt of the melody…She could do this. She hit the play button and grinned at Chloe saying quickly "I hope you know this one Red" before pointing to the lyrics screen in front of them. At that moment the opening beats of 'Titanium' started and she watched as Chloe's face lifted in recognition to the song, and was nearly bowled over when Chloe started excitedly jumping up and down the spot with their arms still linked.

Aubrey and Stacie both started speaking at the same time, Stacie saying "I could of guessed that shorty would pick this' and Aubrey saying "No surprise that Chloe would pick this song". They both turned and looked at each other with confused looks on their faces. Beca had already started the first verse, her alto voice making light work of the lyrics as Stacie leaned in towards Aubrey so she could hear her properly and said, "I'm sure Beca picked this, it's her favourite song, and for her first karaoke expedition I doubt she'd sing anything else" she chuckled. Aubrey tried to fight the urge of a smile as she commented "Its Chloe's favourite song too, she even has it as her ringtone". "So does Beca!" both girls chuckled and rolled their eyes at the ridiculousness of the coincidence. Both women then set their attention back on their best friends.

Chloe's Soprano voice joined in with Beca's on the chorus and as soon as Beca heard the way they mixed together, melding and complimenting each other's tones perfectly she forgot all about being embarrassed, all about the small group of people watching them and almost all about her 'badass' image as she turned to look Chloe directly in the eye, both girls smiling from ear to ear at the sound of them singing together. The song drew to a close and the room erupted in applause and wolf whistles as Chloe flung her arms around a slightly startled Beca as the two stood there in a tight embrace.

It was Jess who broke the two apart as she grabbed Chloe's hand and all but demanded she sing a song with her. Beca smiled at her date and encouraged her along "Red you have an amazing voice, I could literally listen to it all day, and if Jess here wants to relieve me of the karaoke duties I will gladly watch from just over there" she laughed and pointed to the sofa on the opposite wall that Stacie and Aubrey had taken seats on. Chloe made sure that Beca was indeed ok with her doing one more song before turning to Jess to ask what song she wanted to sing. "Do you know Paramore?" Jess excitedly enquired. Chloe nodded her head and Jess went on to ask if 'Ain't It Fun' would be an ok choice, to which Chloe gave a high five as her response signalling for Jess to set the track up on the machine.

Beca lent on the wall next to the sofa that seated Stacie and Aubrey. She wasn't surprised when the brunette didn't even turn her head to acknowledge her, she knew Stacie was too wrapped up in talking to Aubrey right now and hell she didn't even mind, it meant she could lean back and admire the show that Chloe Beale singing and dancing and having fun was putting on across the room. The redhead really did have an amazing voice, and Beca took note to appreciate her sound just as much as she was currently enjoying the dancing that Chloe was doing up on the raised 'stage' that Cynthia Rose had placed in her front room. Beca couldn't help but watch the redheads every move, she was captivated with the way that Chloe moved, the way she would look over at Beca and catch her eye as she did a particularly sexy move and suddenly Beca couldn't think of any reason why she wouldn't want to dance with her.

As soon as the song finished, Beca started clapping and whooping and headed over to her date. "That was amazing Red, you have a stunning voice" Beca smiled as the perky redhead gave her a lopsided grin. "Thanks Becs, I'm really glad I got to sing with you before, your voice is something else! I hope we get the chance to do that again soon" Chloe excitedly spoke. Beca tilted her head back in a short laugh and said "I'm sure that can be arranged Red, but can we please do it in my studio in private instead of doing karaoke?" Chloe simply nodded her head enthusiastically at the prospect of not only seeing Beca again but actually getting to see inside a professional studio as well. "How about we go grab another drink and head back out to the garden, it's getting a little warm in here?" Chloe suggested. "Anything you want Red, anything you want" Beca grinned as Chloe was the one to link their hands this time and led Beca back through the steadily growing crowd.

As soon as they made it out to the garden, Amy bounded over and gave Beca a hearty slap on the back. "It's a good job that C.R got a recording of you singing short stuff, there's no way anyone would believe it otherwise!" she joked. Chloe looked confused, "Becs, you have an amazing voice, why would you not show it off more often?". "Every single time we have asked Beca to come to karaoke with us she either uses being busy at work as an excuse or she just flat out refuses…you must be one hell of a dingo in the bedroom to get this little one up there belting out a song!" Amy joked not realising that what she had said would be considered rude in most company. Beca looked mortified and all but tried to kill Amy with the glares she was throwing at the Australian, she was sure that her friend had just ruined all of the fun her and Chloe had already had that night, with one quick completely inappropriate comment. Beca was too scared to look at Chloe for fear that the redhead would be angry or embarrassed, she was surprised however when she heard Chloe laugh and say "Well I am pretty good in that department even if I do say so myself, but this is our first date Amy, and I'm pretty sure that I like her so I think we will probably wait for that" she finished with a wink.

"You like me?" Beca couldn't stop the question before it left her mouth and once again she blushed in embarrassment of not being able to control her word vomit, spilling whatever thoughts that decided to leak from her brain. Amy took this as her chance to escape before Beca remembered that she was angry at her, Beca however caught the movement and with a quick glance at Amy almost snarled "We will come back to the proper etiquette of conversation in front of dates later Amy"

"It's not my faulty shorty, you never have dates so how am I supposed to know what I can or can't say?" Amy retorted as she made a quick retreat away from the producer. Beca turned her full attention back to Chloe who took both of Beca's hands in her own as she stepped closer. "Of course I like you silly, I think we are going to have a lot of fun dating" Chloe pulled Beca even closer to her as she looked straight into stormy blue eyes. "Well I like you too Chlo" Beca replied shyly instantly not knowing what to do with her body again. Suddenly Beca's text message tone startled the pair, Beca chuckled and apologised as Chloe reassured her that it was ok to check her phone as she suddenly spotted the back of Aubrey in the kitchen with Stacie stood facing her, a huge smirk on her face which confused Chloe somewhat until she was drawn back to Beca who was gawking at her phone. She had just received a message from Stacie that read 'you can thank me later shorty, just ask the hottie to dance already'. And on cue as Stacie saw the panic rise across her friends face, Stacie swapped the lead that was attached to Cynthia Rose's phone and the Stereo system, to that of her own phone where she had hit play on the song of her choice. The opening chords of 'When the right one comes along' played out across the garden. Stacie knew that the only way to get Beca to dance would be to play a country song and to ensure that it was a slow song where she didn't need to do much more than sway from side to side.

Beca gulped and looked up at Chloe. "Chloe…umm can I have this dance?" she said in a small voice. "I thought you'd never ask" Chloe beamed and took the final step to close the distance between their bodies and placed Beca's hands around her waist as she looped her arms around Beca's shoulders. They moved slowly in time with the music and Beca instantly relaxed into Chloe's body. "You know this is one of my favourite songs" Beca admitted, so softly that Chloe wouldn't of heard her if her mouth hadn't been right next to the redheads ear. Chloe didn't respond straight away, instead she listened to the lyrics of the song that she had never heard before. "I get why you would like it" Chloe says into Beca's hair, her arms pulling the shorter woman in a little closer "The lyrics are lovely and their voices are amazing" Chloe added. Beca chuckled, "I'm not doing much for my badass image at the moment am I?" Chloe titled her head back so she could look in Beca's eyes as she said "You don't have to put across any kind of image with me Becs, I like that you feel comfortable enough with me to be yourself, don't ever stop doing that" Chloe said ardently.

From the door in the kitchen, Aubrey stood with a stern look on her face and Stacie with a huge grin, both women looking at their best friends slow dancing on the decking. Stacie turned to face Aubrey, whose expression cleared instantly as soon as she locked eyes with the tall brunette. "I had no idea I was on a date with such a meddler" Aubrey joked. "But a hot meddler right?" Stacie asked as she wiggled her eyebrows at the blonde woman. Aubrey smiled "Yes a very hot meddler" she whispered as she kissed Stacie's cheek. "Come on Conrad, the songs finished, let's put something livelier on and I might consider letting you dance with me again".

At the change of pace of music, Chloe felt Beca tense around her. "Don't worry about the music Becs, let's just stay dancing exactly as we are….besides, I don't think I want you to remove your arms from around me just yet" She smiled down at the shorter woman, as Beca smiled back up at her and snuggled her head into the crook of Chloe's neck, content to just feel the redhead wrapped around her. Beca sighed in happiness, not only was she insanely attracted to the Redhead dancing with her, but she also seemed to be the sweetest, most thoughtful person that Beca had ever met, and she didn't want this magical moment to ever end.

 **A/N: I recommend listening to the song that I mentioned in this chapter, whenever I hear this song it makes me think of Bechloe and how Beca seems to only let Chloe into her personal bubble, like she was waiting for the right one and then along pops Chloe in all her awesomeness. I don't know if that makes sense to anyone else but hey! Lol!**

 **'When The Right One Comes Along' performed by Clare Bowen and Sam Palladio - It's on the season one soundtrack of Nashville. (Yup there are a few references to the show in this chapter, I've recently started watching it and couldn't help but slip some in - I love it!)**

 **As always, I hope you enjoyed and please feel free to leave a review :D**

 **xoxo**


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